The Jones

After hearing so much about this place, I was dying to try it. But I just did not have the time. With it being on the east side of Gainesville, and only being open until 3; things never worked out.

Until Shirley and I had a day off a few days ago. So, we decided we'd have lunch at this little place.

Atmosphere:

Nestled between a laundromat and a pawn shop, I'm sure it could be better. However, the inside of the shop has great art, and the place is arranged to make for a warm and inviting dining experience. The place screams having a nice breakfast and reading the paper in the morning.

Service:

Friendly, on the ball, and knowledgeable. The staff are all very helpful and made us feel welcome.

Menu:

I'll be honest, looking at the menu I was very disappointed that we had gone here for lunch instead of breakfast. The breakfast menu looks amazing! In addition to several original dishes, they have basic stuff that is "bare" and has a very low base price, which you then add accompaniments onto for an additional price. Kind of a neat concept, though I can see it being a bit frustrating for some. I'm sure the wait staff would be helpful enough to make it not a bother.

The lunch menu is your basic sandwich fare. They offer almost everything with a vegan or vegetarian option and use tempeh from Jose's Tempeh Shop. I prefer Artie's stuff, but no biggie. I ordered their tempeh reuben and Shirley ordered the tempeh samsara, which was described as the tempeh reuben on a salad.

Food:

The tempeh reuben was very good. The sauerkraut was very tasty, the tempeh was prepared well, and the bread (from Gainesville's own 2nd Street Bakery) was very good. An incredibly solid reuben. I had rice and beans as a side, and my only complaint was that it was about room temperature.

Shirley's general opinion of the tempeh samsara seemed to be that it should probably remain a sandwich. It tasted pretty good but the sandwich probably would have been better.

We had a frozen blueberry and honey mousse for dessert, and I have to say it was absolutely fantastic. Probably the highlight of the meal.

Price:
Very reasonable. Both the lunch and breakfasts can be enjoyed for under 8 dollars a person.

Overall:
I would very much like to come back here for breakfast as that seems to be the highlight of the Jones. The lunch is still worth a visit though, so don't fret if you can't make it for the breakfast. A reasonably priced, tasty, and vegetarian friendly option in east side Gainesville.

Addendum:
So, Shirley and I decided to go back to the Jones for some breakfast sooner or later, and felt it would be appropriate to put up the results of our trip for everyone. The verdict? Excellent. Gainesville has a hip, comfortable, and delicious breakfast spot in The Jones.

I ordered the Smoked Salmon Omelet, an omelet folded with red onions, dill cream cheese and smoked salmon. It was accompanied by homefries and some toast. The omelet was absolutely delicious, and the homefries were well-seasoned.

Shirley ordered The Jones Rancheros (don't kill me if I remembered this wrong!), which was very good. Definitely good for someone looking for a unique breakfast.

The Jones is open 7 days a week from 7am-3pm. Check it out.

Manuel's Vintage Room

So just a couple weeks ago was my third anniversary with Shirley.  We decided to make it a throwback night, to the days when we would wander downtown and pick some random place to eat at.

We couldn't quite help ourselves about looking up a few places, but I swear we didn't call ahead!  We walked up Main Street past the lovely Stab n' Grab, and found ourselves by Manuel's Vintage Room.  Manuel's took the place of Pio's Pasta Company, and I didn't see too much difference between the two on my first impression.

But anyways, here's my review:

Atmosphere:
Excellent.  Taking a date for some Italian?  Seriously, go here.  Small, intimate, dim lighting.  Can be a bit loud when there's groups, but it's not too bad.  KItchen is slightly open, so there's something to look at.

Service:
Impressive.  The waitress we had displayed a good mix of being knowledgeable and efficient while still being friendly.  Food came out at a good pace, drinks were kept full, and we had a good time. 

I wasn't sure to put this under service or atmosphere, but if you come during dinner you may actually see Manuel.  When we walked in, he was eating his dinner in front of the kitchen, pausing a few times to get up and see how everyone in the restaurant was doing.  Some might find that annoying, I found it pretty cool.  Another bonus for me.

Menu:
The wine list has a decent amount of choices, but as is par for the course, everything is just too expensive to justify.  I won't hold it against them, as I haven't found a place that's any better about it in Gainesville.

The menu consists of soup, salad, starters, pasta, and entrees.  Fairly standard fare.  The pasta is a 'create your own' deal.  Normally I'm not a big fan of this, as I think it's the restaurants job to tell me what the best they have to offer is.  But the waitress was good with recommending something for us, so it wasn't a big deal.

The entrees are mostly beef, veal, or fish options. 

Overall, I felt the menu was balanced and offered a variety that anyone could enjoy.  I find myself wanting to go back to try some things I didn't have a chance to sample.

Food:
To start the meal, we ordered 'Snails'.  I guess they didn't want to call it escargot, but they prepared it very well anyways.  Good texture, good amount of garlic and seasoning, very enjoyable.

For our entrees, we split one of the create your own pastas and the cognac grouper.

The pasta was served with a pesto that was very tasty, if a bit heavy on the cream. 

The grouper was cooked excellently, and the sauce was delicious. 

The meal was a very reasonable portion.

Price:
Moderately pricey.  Appetizers go from 6-10$, Entrees from 15-20$

Overall:
The intimate atmosphere, friendly service, and the good food won me over.  Definitely worth a try.
8.5/10